Facebook Launches Timeline Profiles Today [UPDATED]

Facebook announced the launch of the advanced profile, timeline, today.

Facebook announced the launch of timeline profiles on NBC’s “Today” show, and we’ve got a clip of it below for you to see.

A good million users of Facebook already had the advanced profile enabled when the site officially launched timeline today. Facebook pointed out that celebrities who have already begun constructing their timelines include Tim Tebow, Britney Spears, Lea Michele, Nicole Richie, and Rajon Rando.

Facebook users who are ready to take the plunge should start seeing “get timeline” notifications at the top of their screens, or they can click here to get started.

Once users upgrade, their timelines will be visible only to them for seven days — longer than the originally promised five days — giving them time to review the information and photos they are sharing. That review period can be bypassed if users choose to do so, but if not, the new timelines become visible in seven days. We strongly recommend that you take full advantage of this private curation period.

Users who wish to see what their timeline profiles will look like to other users can click the gear menu at the top of their timelines and select “view as,” allowing you to see what specific individuals or the general public will see.

Users can choose content to be featured on their timelines by rolling over the content and clicking the star, which expands it to two columns. And Facebook’s pencil option remains for users who want to hide, edit, or delete posts.

The privacy drop-down menu allows users to determine who can see each post, even including an option for “only me.” Note: As of this writing, you cannot change the visibility of the cover image. It defaults to public visibility, so choose an image carefully for this very large space — it expands to cover roughly 840 pixels wide by 310 pixels when you double click on it, but defaults to about half the height when you first land on the profile.

Timeline also includes a new tool called “activity log,” which allows users to review and approve — or hide — all of their posts and Facebook activity, going back to when they first joined the social network. Users can also search for specific types of posts, such as photos or app notifications. The activity log is only visible to the user.

Timeline is also available via Facebook for Android, and for touch-enabled mobile devices via m.facebook.com.

It should be noted that timeline is not yet available for business pages, as Facebook generally rolls out upgrades to users profiles first, in order to use them as a testing ground.

Readers, do you have access to the feature yet? What are your plans for curating your own timeline? What are some of the niftiest looking timelines you’ve seen on Facebook so far?